Description

Scattered around the base of the Devil's Den cliffband are a collection of boulders that vary in size from puny to house sized. For the most part, the bouldering was developed in the late 90's and, aside from the classics, hasn't seen much attention since. As a result, most of the easier and less popular climbs have been slowly reclaimed by the moss and lichen. The ice storm a few years ago dropped numerous trees as well, further keeping people away from the problems in the talus and away from the trail. Regardless, there are a handful of problems here that should be on everyone's must do list - that is, if you can climb V7 and keep a cool head up high.

Where Am I Going?

Follow the trail from Boulder Natural towards North Mountain which is well marked and easy to follow. In less than 5 minutes the first boulder (The Premiere) is visible on the left. The Walrus is up the hill behind it, although it is best reached from further up the trail. Continue on the trail to the Dust Boulder and more, all on the left below the cliff.

Start on the left side sitting down. The is a good foot way to the left and very slopey holds heading up right. Make a few moves right before popping big to a decent arete way out right. Bear hug a few moves until you can gain a hollow jug and climb on top.Sloper skills with a side of explosive power will be the recipe for this little number....[more]Browse More Classics in NH

I came to check this area out the other day, I was heavily disappointed, there are downed trees all over the place, lichen covering almost everything, there is good potential, but it need some serious TLC.

An area like this doesn't see that much traffic because the grades keep the crowds away (mostly v5 and up). Because of this bouldering here feels and looks like everthing is an fa. Lose the guide, grab a brush and a 12 pack and you'll find some good stuff. Check out the routes on the cliff too, some awesome stuff, some WIDE too. Nice.

If you're seeking problems that are below V5, I'll agree, it's probably not worth the walk. Most of the problems in the guide were first climbed at least a decade ago and haven't been touched since. However, the problems that are still clean are the ones that are really worth climbing, most of which happen to be V6 or V7 and tall. The only horizontal crack I can think of is a hard V9.

What is the hard face climb directly to the left of Red? It starts on two full two pad crimps, crosses to a bad two finger gastone, hits a half pad crimp, then hits the upper red good hold and finishes up the arete.

Does anybody know what the (decomposing) 'Walrus' goes at grade wise? I know the rock quality is a little sub par but I feel like this is one of the coolest look lines I've seen at Pway. Looks like it's been getting a lot of love lately.

Also, I have to say, this might be my favorite area at Pway. Most of the lines are outstanding, climbing high quality rock with a bit of height thrown in. There is potential for some outstanding new problems as well.

I've been doing some trail work and cleaning in this area, so it's a bit better to navigate right now. More traffic would certainly help. Bring a brush and scrub something!

Hey would it make sense to split up the problems by boulder at this point? It seems like there is enough here to warrant it. Also with the "out of print" nature of Kemple's guide peeps will be looking here for beta more and more.

Most of the boulders in this area don't necessarily have individual names so that makes it a little tricky. Perhaps with Kemple's guidebook out of print, someone will finally put together a guidebook that New England deserves with accurate information, names and grades and with plenty more problems listed. Maybe I'll have to step up! Though I've already got two guidebooks to finish before I can start another one...

"Bryce just needs to officially publish his amazing and comprehensive "underground" guide book.. its all in there"-Lee

Not all. I was a little disappointed that that he did not look in the Akashic Record and find all the names and grades of the routes I and my friends put up in area 51 and forgot about, or more of the later ones. I was really looking forward to refreshing my memory. I also would have liked a little more detailed information about Magic Woods, but I appreciate the attempt to keep some of the mystery in parts of the area. The use of difficulty symbols lifted from skiing also refreshingly didn't overly focus on on grading minutia. That may leave some people feeling disoriented though. I did like the well done photos and overview maps. They are inspiring and should get you around easily. It is a big improvement over the old guide. Thanks for publishing it.

I still have to figure out how he makes his kind of maps. I want to do some like that for Rumney boulders, but also make some overview ones where you can hover over a boulder and a small photo of it pops up. Click on it and it would take you to the MP page.

Mark, if you look at Bryce's book and its site you can see that Bryce is consistently updating the book and I know Magic Woods and Area 51 are two areas that he is still looking to update. Not having all the information at the ready like the more often climbed areas makes it a more time consuming project. I am sure when more info comes to light Bryce will continue his hard work and update it.